When dinner’s served you need to be quick about it if you’re a white-tail kite – the meal is about to be delivered at altitude in a matter of seconds…
Two white-tailed kites take part in a bit of mid-air refuelling – exchanging a meal at a height of 30m (100ft).
The birds of prey pass a vole from talon to talon as they work as a team to fill their nest with food.
It’s all part of a lightning-quick set of aerobatics as the two-year-old male snatches the rodent from the ground and passes it to a female so he can head off to hunt for another target.
He glides at about 15mph to allow his partner to approach from the rear, turn upside down and grasp the in-flight meal before heading back to their nest with the fresh catch.
Photographer Phoo Chan grabbed the rare shot in the Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont, California, after a painstaking wait of four hours.
‘It is certainly a moment to remember seeing this feat of nature in person,’ said the 48-year-old.
‘The mid-air exchange is not very common since we can only see it during the early stage of the pair bonding.
‘The exchange will not take place on a windy day nor when there’s not enough wind for the male to glide like a ‘kite’ and stay afloat while making the offer.
‘In such conditions, the male would just hand off the prey to the female at her perch.’
Mr Chan took the handheld shots while waiting about 24m (80ft) high on a hillside.
But he had to be fast on the shutter – the birds can take up to 20 minutes to find their prey but the exchange can take less than two seconds.
At other times the hungry males can eat half of the prey – usually voles and mice – before handing over the rest of it on the wing.
And although the Coyote Hills are known as a juicy hunting ground, only a few white-tailed kites manage to settle in the area each year.
Mr Chan said: ‘It is not very common to see birds in this area at this age.
‘This year has been quite exceptional, where we saw three different pairs breeding at three different locations but two of them did not make it through to live here long-term.’
But there could be good news. ‘We hope to see some chicks soon from this pair, even though we have not seen the female sitting enough in the nest to indicate they have eggs already,’ he added.